Smriti Irani defeats Rahul Gandhi by 35,000 votes in Amethi

Amethi has remained the citadel of the Congress but this time round Smriti Irani of BJP wrested the seat from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, winning by 35,000 votes. While Irani garnered 49.02 per cent of the vote share in Amethi, Gandhi is behind with 44.44. Addressing a press conference, Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat in Amethi and congratulated Irani, saying he respected the mandate of the people of the constituency.

Smriti Irani campaigned aggressively in Amethi, where she had contested and lost to Rahul Gandhi in 2014 but had managed to reduce his winning margin to one lakh. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who had campaigned for her brother, had cited the Gandhis’ legacy and the constituency’s “personal” relationship with the family in Amethi.

In 2014, Rahul got 408651 votes against Irani’s 300748 votes. A low margin of victory of about one lakh votes was attributed to the BJP’s aggressive campaign and consistent attempts to make inroads in Amethi over the years. Rahul’s margin of victory was down substantially from the figure of 3.7 lakh votes with which he had won in 2009.